GRRRR 8 cats and still mice!

[redring]

I know there are centaint Eo's that will drive off aunts and bugs. But any body know of one that will drive off the mice. You would think the cats would keep them out but I hear them at night chewing at the insulation in my cealing. I dont want to kill them , for once I just want to offend my unwanted house guests.

[WitchJezebel]

Are you sure they're actually mice and not rats? Rats aren't afraid of cats at all so that could be what it is. You may not want to kill them, but they're going to continue to multiply until they are out of control. Buy some mouse poison; the kind that comes in little blocks that look like gree cubes of cheese and put them everywhere that your cats CAN'T get to them. Or call an exterminator. You and kitties may have to vacate for awhile but it'll be worth it.

[Shanti]

If they are in walls and ceilings, you could put anti-freeze in small containers up in the ceiling. Make sure the cats cant get to it!! It works great at killing them if you can get it in the area they are in!! If its rats...I had them once...The 'only' thing that worked...a rat trap with dog food in it!!!

[WitchJezebel]

If they are in walls and ceilings, you could put anti-freeze in small containers up in the ceiling. Make sure the cats cant get to it!! It works great at killing them if you can get it in the area they are in!! If its rats...I had them once...The 'only' thing that worked...a rat trap with dog food in it!!!

anti-freeze, huh??? Wow, I never thought of that!!!

[SphinYote]

I'd ague against the poison unless you have some place to keep the cats away from home for a while. Even in an inaccessable area, the mice can eat it, and then wander into an accessable area before they die, where the cats can eat them and get poisoned....

I've heard of the machines that give off the high pitched whining noise that are supposed to be too hihg for humans to hear, and heard mixed reviews from people who actually use them. If you can find one cheap you MIHGT try it, but only if you can confirm that it is actually a brand that works and that it won't bother your cats.

Other than that, the things I've heard, but never tried, are that mice do not like powdered cloves, cayenne pepper, or cinnamon (same with rats), nor do they like the shavings of certain types of soap. For the spices, it's because in the powdered form it acts as an irritant, my assumption is that it's similar for the soap.

Thus you might try buying those kinds of spices in bulk in their ground form (you can usually find them in bins at a health-food store), and pour them in the inaccessable areas (only try a few places at first though, maybe just one or two, in case you or the cats have a strong reaction to them, and then if you determine that you're OK with the spices expand from there into other inaccessable locations). If you have openings in your walls, pour it inside, anywhere where you might have access to their nests and such...

Might try reading around first before you try that, though. As I've said, I've never tried it before and have no idea if it's effective or just an old-wives tale, although it sounds logical to me.

WitchJezebel is right, if they're there, they will likely multiply. Use what means you can to drive them out, but I'm going to say that you may want to consider using both the live and regular types of mousetraps in addition (you can get little plastic live traps for mice that have trap dors that close when they go in for food and shift the trap). Just be sure to check the live traps several times a day so as to let the mice go as soon as they're caught. With these at least, you can put them anywhere, as they won't hurt the cats...

Don't use adhesive traps, as like any animal, a mouse is perfectly willing to chew it's own legs off to escape those kinds of traps. Better to use a regular mousetrap and kill it than to use the adhesive traps...

Once you do get rid of the mice, by whatever means you use, go around your house and look for any, and I do mean ANY, kind of gap in your foundations, doorways, etc. and seal them. Mice can get through amazingly small spaces, I swear even their skulls must be flexible as I've seen one go under a space that wasn't much more than a quarter of an inch wide. Go over your home as closely as possible, otherwise they're just going to come back in, in spite of whatever you use to repel them. Like inseccts, mice can evolve to adapt to whatever we use to get rid of them...

I'm glad you don't want to kill them, I could never stand the thought either. But the fact of the matter is, If you did decide to go that route, it might be easier in the long run, because while you're waiting for the ones you have to leave, more will come in, and when you seal your home, you may very well end up sealing the newcomers in.

Also, it may not be through gaps in the building itself that they're coming in. A while back my dad brought in some birdseed that had been in the garage. Guess what else he brought in unknowingly? The cats killed a couple, but mostly by accident. Caught the rest when the cats would corner them behind shelves and I happened to be in the room. Had just finished a bottle of juice the first time, so I blocked one end of the shelves and put the bottle at the other end and directed the mouse in that direction with the help of a yardstick. So, mouse in a bottle became mouse outside far away from the house...this happened a couple of other times. The other times I had the bottle ready in the room and was able to, with the assistance of the cats, who thought it was a wonderful new game, catch the mice. Apparently we got them all, because we haven't seen any sign of them since...I doubt that this would normally be an effective method of getting rid of them though...

Good luck,

SphinYote

[redring]

My dh is agenst the poisen method. I think they have had them sooo long there may not be another way other than finding somthing they dislike enough to leave. He says then they will just die and stink. The family seems to feel there is no way to get rid of them soooo why try too hard? there are some traps upstairs.......but im not dealing with them. I have only heard them in the cealing. They must be in the walls too but havent noticed that. The cealing is only insulation and the plastic I cannot really get into it. Maybe if I had somthing that could blow the herbs in????

[PaganLibrarian]

Be careful with the antifreeze thing. In some places, where I live for instance, it is illegal to leave antifreeze out as a poison for animals.

[Shanti]

Just for info...mice can burn down your house by chewing on the electrical!! If they get into food and cabinets they will urinate all over everything!!

Rats can also burn down your house plus they have spread illness to humans and they have and can and may bite humans such as while sleeping!!

A friend I had known was the guy for the City of Milwaukee who's job it was to go to peoples home and deal with rats!! They are dangerous if they have invaded!!

Try what you can...do what you need too but for the safety of the people living in the house...find away to get them out!!

[redring]

That is defanitly my plan :) Thanks for the warning.